Andersonville Georgia October 17 – October 20
Warm Springs Georgia October 20 – October 26
Andersonville is in the middle of nowhere and it is a very very very small town. It has a country store (where they sell sandwiches), the historical society building and the historic site. On day one we headed out to the Andersonville National Historical Site which contains the Andersonville Prison, the Andersonville National Cemetery and the Prisoner of War Museum. Andersonville was home to the confederate prison that housed prisoners during the civil war. The prison was open for the last 14 months of the war. During that time it housed 45,000 prisoners and 13,000 died. The prison was overcrowded and was very unsanitary with inadequate food and water and no way to dispose of waste. The site was commanded by Captain Wirz, who was executed after the war for war crimes.
On day two of our stay, we traveled to Plains, Georgia to see the Jimmy Carter National Historic park. The park consists of his high school, the main street in Plains, the depot where he ran his campaign and his brother’s gas station. We enjoyed strolling around Plains and learning more about Jimmy Carter.
We left the small (non-existent) town of Andersonville and headed to Warm Springs Georgia. While in Warm Springs we visited The Little White House where Franklin D. Roosevelt built a retreat. He visited here annually from 1924 to 1945 to bathe in the therapeutic waters to treat his polio. He benefitted from his time here and founded the Warm Springs Foundation which later became the March of Dimes. The Little White House contained the original furniture from when FDR’s time. The site also had a small museum and our guide was very knowledgeable. We made a quick visit the Warm Springs building which housed a small museum about history and eradication of polio and the old abandoned warm spring pools.
There was a fabulous bike trail that bordered Calloway gardens and we really enjoyed our ride.
We also had breakfast at the Country Store in Calloway Gardens and enjoyed the view out the window. Steve remembered the restaurant from a previous visit with his family, but said the biscuits were way smaller. The breakfast was good but not awesome; the view was very nice.
One day we rode to LaGrange, Georgia to try out some beer at Wild Leap Brew Co. upon the recommendation of our friends, Angel and Anita. Angel and Anita were spot on because the beer was really good.
Next up – a whole month in Auburn!
“Rainy Night in Georgia” by Brook Benton